Red-Winged Blackbird

The male Red-Winged Blackbird has vivid red shoulders that it can actually hide if it wants. The female Red-Winged Blackbird doesn't resemble the name at all since she has brown and white striping on her entire body.

Even though one Red-Winged Blackbird may have more than a dozen females in its territory, not all of the eggs in those nests belong to the Territorial male. Nearby Red-Winged Blackbird males may be responsible for many of the eggs!

Nesting Habits of the Red-Winged Blackbird

The Red-Winged Blackbird will nest in large colonies, often numbering in the thousands.

Male Red-Winged Blackbirds often have up to 15 females in its territory, although most have up to 5. Although the Red-Winged Blackbird females each have nests, the eggs in the nest do not necessarily belong to that one male Red-Winged Blackbird. Neighboring Red-Winged Blackbird males often mate with some of the females living in that male Red-Winged Blackbird’s territory.

The cup-shaped nest of the Red-Winged Blackbird is often constructed of wet leaves and marsh materials and filled with mud. The inside is lined using soft grass.

The female Red-Winged Blackbird lays between 3-4 bluish green speckled eggs and incubates them for 3-11 days until they hatch.

After hatching, the baby Red-Winged Blackbird chicks stay in the nest for about 10-14 days, being fed by the father and mother. The fledglings are ready to go out into the world in another 2 or 3 weeks to join a large Red-Winged Blackbird flock.

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